Job Search 2009

Last week, we had a huge response to this post on jobs that pay around $80,000 a year. Many of you expressed your frustration at the job search process as a whole. Today, we get some advice and perspective about job hunting in the new year from Joe Turner, “The Job Search Guy”

“[This year] there will be fewer jobs available, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities during periods of crisis and chaos,” says Turner, who has spent the last 15 years as a recruiter.  ”Compare our economic situation to a large forest fire.  We’ll see businesses, even entire industries go down in ruins.  That’s what you’ll be hearing about in the news.  What you won’t hear about are all those companies that are rising up from the ashes like new shoots.  As some companies go down, others will rise up in the new economy.”

Author of “Job Search Secrets Unlocked” and “Paycheck 911,” Turner says there is a place for you in this evolving economy, but only if you start thinking smarter and acting differently.  Here are Turner’s six resolutions to maximize your chances of scoring a secure paycheck in 2009:

1. Get in the Game

Forget passivity and become proactive. Stretch yourself, get out of your comfort zone and aggressively search beyond the listed jobs you find on the Internet. This requires a game plan and the expectation that you’re going to win this game. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and decide instead to excel and achieve at your job search.

Do something every day to further your search. Positive action diminishes anxiety and other negative feelings. This goes beyond survival of the fittest. For anyone who wants to succeed, it requires an iron will and determination. You will not be defeated by this job search process. Continually remind yourself that you will prevail and you will outlast this challenge.

2. Lose the Neediness

Take the words “desperate” and “defeat” out of your vocabulary. When employers sense neediness, the game is over.  If you present yourself with a sense of desperation, you’re bringing your anxiety and fears to the table. Rather, focus on what you can do for an employer. Don’t focus on your needs. Instead, focus on what the employer needs, and this leads us to Resolution No. 3.

3. Think ROI

Employers don’t hire people to be liabilities on their balance sheets. They hire people to be assets (to provide a Return On Investment) and to solve a problem. To do this, demonstrate clear benefits that you offer them.

Take a look at your skills, experience, abilities and talents. Determine how you can best help the employer either make money or save money. Turn your skills and talents into benefits that an employer understands and appreciates. Pull out examples from your past work experience. Ask yourself, “How did my work save time or money, make money or otherwise improve the overall situation for my employer?”

Education and skills, while valuable, do not translate into benefits. What can you do for this employer that your competitors can’t? You have a unique set of skills, experiences and talents. Turn them into a “Unique Selling Proposition” for the employer.

4. Widen Your Network

In the past it was easier to find work by responding to ads found in the newspaper or on the Internet. That was before the bar was raised. Now it’s foolhardy to limit yourself to ads on the Internet and expect success. Aggressively seek out those 70% – 80% of jobs that are not advertised.

Start widening your network both in person and online. Begin by making some new contacts each week through local events or related professional meetings. Online, you can add your bio and profile to LinkedIn, Spoke or BrightFuse for starters. For those of you who are more aggressive in Web 2.0, consider Twitter.com.  It’s become an excellent way to follow movers and shakers plus make yourself known to a wider playing field.  That said, don’t forget family, friends and neighbors who might know someone. Job search is about connections.  The more connections you can make, the higher your chances of success.

5. Be Persistent

Nothing worth having is ever easy to achieve. There is a lot of rejection in job search. Sometimes it seems as if you’ll never get a “yes”. Remember what good sales people already know. That winning a sale, a job, or any other goal is a numbers game. Commission sales people will tell you that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes”. When you can see your process from a more objective viewpoint, knowing that you’re one more rejection closer to a “yes”, you’ll be less inclined to take the “no’s” personally, and less likely to get discouraged.

6. Inoculate Yourself Against Negative Messages

Succeeding at a job search is a mental process, and negative input from anywhere can poison your outlook and lead to fear, discouragement, anxiety and other negative emotions. Start by turning off the “noise” from the outside world.  That includes the news and the inevitable negative commentary on the airwaves.  Associate with positive people and protect yourself from all types of negativity. A job search can be a big undertaking. You need all of the assets and advantages that you can possibly bring to the party. You can’t afford to be exposed to the negativity of others, whether it comes from friends, relatives, print media, radio or TV. Read books and articles that motivate, encourage and inspire you. Avoid anything and anyone that doesn’t fall into this category.

You can find more of Joe Turner’s advice in his books ”Job Search Secrets Unlocked” and “Paycheck 911,” as well as his Web site at: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.